Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616) was a Spanish writer. Born in Alcalá de Henares, he first served as a soldier and was seriously wounded in the left hand at the Battle of Lepanto. On his journey back to Spain in 1575, he was captured and spent five years in captivity in Algiers before being ransomed. He later worked, among other things, as a naval supply official and tax collector, and was imprisoned several times, partly for debt. He became famous for the novel “Don Quixote”, whose first part appeared in 1605 and second part in 1615. His other works include “La Galatea” (1585), the “Exemplary Novels” (1613), and plays.